[0:00] Let us begin our service this evening with the singing of Psalm 116 in Gaelic, but I'll read these words first of all in English.
[0:19] Psalm 116, at the beginning of the psalm, I love the Lord because my voice and prayer read it here, I while I live will call on him who bowed to me his ear.
[0:32] Of death the cords and sorrows did about me compass round, the pains of hell too cold on me, I grief and trouble found. Upon the name of God the Lord, then did I call and say, Deliver thou my soul, O Lord, I do thee humbly pray.
[0:50] God merciful and righteous is, yea, gracious is our Lord. God saves the meek, I was brought low, he did me, help afford.
[1:04] And so on. N'estajlam diya, ur san gunt ag eist, rhimagu srimorni fawz. N'estajlam diya, ur san gunt ag eist.
[1:20] N'estajlam diya, ur san gunt ag eist, rhimagu sriman diya.
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[9:42] for you so loved the world in that you gave your only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life we pray that we would bless you today wholeheartedly as we said as our god and as our savior the fifth the father of our lord jesus christ we give thanks that he is one who lived in this world and who knows what this world is about not merely as an observer although there's more to the knowledge that you have as god that is gleaned not just by observation but there's a perfection about that knowledge the perfection of the maker the one who has brought into being every creature that ever lives who has ownership of them we give thanks that the perfections of your knowledge belie our appreciation of it we pray that you would mercifully show to us that you do remember us as you have indeed shown in times past remind us afresh by pouring out your spirit upon this sin sick world we pray that you would allow us to confess our sin and do so with the heartfelt knowledge offered that we may show regret and sorrow and the grief that is appropriate to those who have such a knowledge we pray that you would bless us this day as your people remembering all who belong to that number who have experienced your grace in christ we pray that you would remember those who are under your hand in sickness in sickness those of that number that you possess and you have promised to visit in mercy they may be reminded of these promises being fulfilled in their experience those who are confined to their homes or those who are under your hand in sickness in hospital those who are suffering because of the the way that old age has overtaken them we remember all these all these disabilities and weaknesses that beset the children of men do you remember in particular at this time the effects of covid 19 upon the world yet many some have succumbed to the illness itself some have succumbed to the griefs and sorrows that accompany those who are left be left of loved ones some have extended influences upon their lives because of the way restrictions are placed upon our lives of the present those who are confined to the home to the homes because of of their own weakness some solitary some surrounded by loved ones but nevertheless the restrictions that they are under caused them mental distress we pray for all such remember the world as a whole thankful that we can bring our cares and concerns to you encourage us to continue in prayer pray for our nation those who govern us see divisions we see disputes we see discord even in the midst of things that should be unifying and encouraging us to work together
[13:46] these things very quickly come to light so we pray for our governments for the national government for the first minister for the government of the united kingdom the prime minister and his office bearers we pray that you would remember all the nations of the nations of the earth and those responsible for their governments we remember lord those who are under particular duress at this time as they seek to minister to the needs of those who have illness to contend with the first instance covid and then then again those who have other illnesses that are equally dangerous and which must be dealt with otherwise there will be consequences to deal with so we pray for nurses and doctors and carers of all descriptions remember the various hospitals that are stretching point breaking point we pray that they are stretched to the limit that you would undertake for them remembering them in their need pray for families households communities towns and cities ask lord that you would measurefully visit us with the outpouring of your spirit that they are small things that are so few that have a spiritual perception of the things that are going on they are so self-centered and so taken up with with the things of time and of sense that they have no no through concept of eternity and to us we would remember that you are at work even now pouring out your spirit upon us that your word as it is preached and proclaimed by whatever means that you would bless it it will not return unto you void it will accomplish that which you have purpose for it even overruling in providence to that end so hear our petitions remembering the grief struck remembering the brokenhearted remembering those who are downcast and downtrodden guard keep and protect your people watch over them in all their situations cleansing us from sin in jesus name amen we're going to read from the new testament scriptures we're going to read from john chapter 17 we're looking at this chapter as a whole today's our final time in looking at this chapter but we'll read the whole chapter these words speak jesus and lift up his eyes to heaven and said father the hour is come glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify thee as thou has given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou has given him and this is life eternal that they might know thee the only true god and jesus christ whom thou has sent i have glorified thee on the earth i have finished the work which thou gavest me to do and now oh father glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which i had with thee before the world was i have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world thine they were and thou gavest them me and they have kept thy word now they have known that all things whatsoever thou has given me are of thee for i have given unto them the words which thou gavest me and they have received them and have known surely that i came out from thee and they have believed that thou didst send me i pray for them
[17:55] i pray not for the world but for them which thou hast given me for they are thine and all mine are thine and thine are mine and i am glorified in them and now i am no more in the world but these are in the world and i come to thee holy father keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me that they may be one as we are while i was with them in the world i kept them in thy name those that thou gavest me i have kept and none of them is lost but the son of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled and now come i to thee and these things i speak in the world that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves i have given them thy word and the world hath hated them because they are not of the world even as i am not of the world i pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil they are not of the world even as i am not of the world sanctify them through thy truth thy word is truth thou has sent me into the world even so have i also sent them into the world have i also sent them into the world and for their sakes i sanctify myself that they also might be sanctified through the truth neither pray i for these alone but for them also which shall believe in me through their word that they all may be one as thou father art in me and i indeed that they also may be one in us that the world may believe that thou has sent me and the glory which thou gavest me i have given them that they may be one even as we are one i in them and thou in me that they may be made perfect in one and that the world may know that thou has sent me and has loved them as thou has loved me father i will that they also whom thou has given me be with me where i am that they may behold my glory which thou has given me for thou lovets me before the foundation of the foundation of the world o righteous father the world has not known thee but i have known thee and these have known that thou has sent me and i have declared unto them thy name and will declare it that the love for which thou has loved me may be in them and i in them and so on may the lord hath his blessing to this reading of his word unto his name be the praise well as we indicated at the outset we have been looking at this chapter over the last number of prayer meetings or bible studies and we have been considering the words that are recognized as the high priestly prayer of the lord jesus christ one of the divines has said that in the presence of the heavenly father the teacher has become the intercessor the prophet has become the high priest the high priest and while it is plain that it is a prayer addressed to the father by the son and hence some have called it the real lord's prayer there are many aspects to this prayer that we must learn from
[21:56] we have seen the way the prayer is divided jesus begins by prayer for himself following that with a section which is devoted in particular to prayer for the disciples and then a more general prayer for believers of every generation and as we look at this final part of the prayer we see that christ desires unity for those who are his the prayer that they that they all may be one as though father art in me and i in thee that they also may be one in us that the world may believe that thou has sent me he desires not only that they be united but also as we shall see that they be glorified glorified that the father may be glorified in the son that the lord may be glorified in the saints and that the saints may be glorified with christ now the first thing that we can notice is that when this prayer is offered it is offered it is offered at a time when jesus is looking forward in anticipation to the cross it is an anticipation that we do not understand in many respects because we know retrospectively what that cross involves the prayer but he understood it better than most in anticipation of what was before him but as he anticipates with knowledge he does so with the understanding that this is what he was in the world to do but as we see from the tenure of the prayer from the from the from the way that the prayer is structured that that he also anticipates not only the cross but what lies beyond the cross what is beyond his death which is resurrection ascension and glorification his thoughts betray a certain inevitability about the outcome and if we look closely at the text we see that he he appreciates what that means the if we think of it like this the if we think of it like this he understands that this prayer will be answered this prayer is for all that the father has given to him and he knows that of that number none will be lost in the first instance none will be lost because it is his will it is the will of the only one able to speak in this way to the father we know that God's people are encouraged to be bold by virtue of the relationship that they enjoy with Jesus Christ they are encouraged to come boldly for example to a throne of grace
[25:59] and that boldness can only come from the relationship of faith that they enjoy with Christ God's people may be bold but if their boldness is sensible it is resting upon the finished work of Christ Robbie Duncan once said he it was with whom the covenant was made and he the eternal son of God in all the might of divinity and all the weakness of humanity did go through and do it and give his life a ransom for many Jesus is praying for the church as an entity his prayer is that they may be one his prayer is for all the father has given to him and of these he says none will be lost none will be lost his prayer will not be refused no petition of his could ever be refused the second thing we can notice is what he prayed for that they may be with me where I am they are my sheep he says and his sheep are destined to be with him is that not something to ponder we know of his mission to save the lost we know of the desire he had that strong desire indicated to us in the parable where even if 99 sheep were safe if one was lost his eye was seeking out that one that was lost but Jesus is an eye to the glory of permanent residence where no separation will be possible in the world glimpses are all the church have but what awaits the church is the gift of sight what awaits the church is the fullness of the glory that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me we have not been able to behold us we have been given as we said a glimpse of it perhaps some have underlined the word behold whereby it is not the vision of faith but the revelation to be made to the whole nature of man we have quoted often the words of of sweet theologian and he writes the words of the word and our father when our human nature has been raised and transferred as his has been into the spiritual and eternal order there will be he seems to teach a renewal of the visually visualized presence of the lord to be apprehended by faculties of which our presence dates we have no experience and i suppose that that has to be understood we well i think often of of the nature of the fall of man
[30:03] what was lost with the fall we tend to think of of the major things i suppose it's wrong to think of it of any part of it being a lesser part but we lost communion with god we lost our state of of created holiness we lost so many things in the fall but in a restoration in the in the glorification of our humanity there will be a restoration that will take in the faculties of of perception the intellect the the heart will be whole so many different things perhaps that we cannot conceive of no one can say that in the world they saw the unveiled glory of christ the closest to it may be such as took place on the mount of transfiguration i mentioned i mentioned robbie duncan he he says of faith it's an imperfect medium of communion with christ which sounds strange an imperfect medium yes he says it's a true medium it is the only medium but it is an imperfect medium because it is only by faith that we see christ now there is a glory that belongs to christ bestowed upon him by the father that is his because he is the risen savior and we have yet to glimpse that we have yet to see it but those who are in glory with him will not only see it but experience it here in this verse the reason is given you loved me before the world was before the world was a love that was everlasting and miserable and calvin calls the glory mediatorial glory and the love the father had for him as he fulfilled that role with such a love did the father embrace him before the creation of the world that he might be the one in whom the father would love his elect you see there is a mystery here there is a a deep deep impenetrable mystery and if it was not mysterious then there would be a sense in which we would say that it lacked oh righteous father the world hath not known thee but i have known thee and these have known that thou has sent me and i have declared unto them thy name and will declare it that the love for which thou has loved me baby in them and die in them a wonderful wonderful experience that awaits the people of god they've had a foretaste of it they've had an experience of it but only in a measure and only those who have experienced the revelation of christ i have declared unto them i have declared unto them thy name and will declare it and that purpose of it the end result of it is that the love for which you have loved me may be in them and die in them there are many things concerned with this
[34:10] these words of christ that we may not be able to fathom but they hold out to us that truth that we will be brought face to face with this is a prayer prayer of the lord to his father and no prayer of the son to the father has ever been left unanswered we give thanks that god in his mercy will bring to fruition all that has been solicited by the son by virtue of his accomplishment of his finished work may bless to us these few thoughts shall we join in prayer lord help us to pray we cannot pray in the way that our lord prayed but in a in the strength of his prayer in the light of his prayer with the encouragement of his prayer we do come to your god pleading the merits of the finished work of christ we give thanks that where we fail and come short where we fall and backslide he is there to plead for us just as he revealed to peter when peter would experience declension and when peter would succumb to the temptations of of satan i have prayed for you that your faith fail you not and if that were not so not one of us would be able to persevere or to stand we give thanks for the ongoing intercession at the right hand of the majesty on high bless us we pray continue with us watching over us cleansing from sin in the lord jesus christ name and now may grace mercy and peace from god the father the son of the holy spirit be with you all now and always amen